Vitória's home games are played at the club's own stadium, Manoel Barradas, capacity 35,632.[1] The team plays in red and black horizontal striped shirts, black shorts and black socks. The stripes have changed over time: they have been sometimes vertical, horizontal, wide and narrow.

The club was founded on May 13, 1899, by the brothers Artur and Artêmio Valente, along with seventeen other young fellows. They were from an old Bahia family, and discovered football during their studies in England. Initially Vitória was a cricket club, named Club de Cricket Victoria, because all of them lived at the Vitória neighborhood, in Salvador.

On May 22, 1901, Vitória played its first football match, at Campo da Pólvora, against International Sport Club, a team whose players were English seamen. Vitória beat International 3–2. Two months after that match, Vitória changed its original colors, which were black and white, to red and black, which are still in use.

On September 13, 1903, Vitória beat a club formed by people from São Paulo state, São Paulo Bahia Football Club 2–0 in the club's first official match. In 1908, Vitória won its first title ever, the Campeonato Baiano. They won the next year as well.

From 1910 to 1952, they didn't win any titles because they were still an amateur club. In 1953, the club turned professional, and won its third Baiano honor. Bahia was dominating the state championship, and Vitória only won titles in 1955, 1957, 1964, 1965, 1972, 1980, 1985 and 1989.

In the 2000s, the Campeonato Baiano trophy was won by Vitória eight out of ten years.

In 2004 Vitória, after a poor campaign, was relegated to the Brazilian Second Division. In 2005, the club competed in the Brazilian second division, finishing 17th, and so was relegated to the Third Division for the first time in its history.

In 2006, Vitória was runner-up of the third division, and was promoted to the Brazilian second division. In 2007, the club was promoted back to the first division after finishing in fourth place. This meant the club had managed to return from the lowest Brazilian national division to its original place in the first division in only two years.